News & Stories

Curious, isn’t it, how the same folks who oppose government income support (i.e., welfare) also can’t stomach a wage standard that ensures people can earn a decent living for a day’s work? Fortunately, there are some real-life examples of businesses out there proving the point that paying workers well is good for everyone’s bottom line. One […]

This time of year, high school seniors who plan to go to community college or the University of Washington take a look at the actual price of admission — and then try to figure out with their parents whether they can make it work. It gets tougher every year. Just 10 years ago, UW tuition […]

A new column by Michael Hiltzik in today’s LA Times demolishes the “sky is falling” critics of Social Security and makes a compelling case for increasing benefits for low-income workers, and expanding coverage to include mothers, students and dependents who have been wrongfully excluded from Social Security for far too long. But I think Hiltzik […]

Here’s a little-noticed wrinkle in the Supreme Court’s consideration of the Affordable Care Act: college financial aid reform could also be at risk. The Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare) was passed using a reconciliation – a special legislative process used to consider budget bills. The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (HCERA), as it was […]

Please join EOI, the Washington State Budget & Policy Center, and other community partners for a forum titled What Women Want: Jobs, Education, & Healthcare. This free community forum on Tuesday May 8th from 6 to 8pm, will highlight the impacts of the recession and state budget cuts on women in Washington. It will focus on how […]

One change could eliminate the long-term shortfall, promote tax equity and allow a modest benefit increase now The 2012 Social Security Trustees’ Report shows the nation’s most important and popular social insurance system is on sound financial footing for at least another generation. With $2.7 trillion in its trust fund, Social Security can pay full […]

If education is the great equalizer, then steep annual tuition increases are the great divider – a reminder that a college education is quickly becoming a luxury item that fewer middle class families can afford. Tuition at public colleges and universities has increased by 300% since 1980. Students and their families are responding by taking […]

From NPR: The past week’s political firestorm in the presidential race focused on stay-at-home moms, but two-thirds of women with young children now work. Nearly half are their family’s primary breadwinner. What some feel is being lost in the political debate are the challenges they face in the workplace. “We unfortunately have a number of […]

The Columbia Journalism Review (CJR), a media watchdog committed to high standards in journalism, has released a scathing critique of many media outlets for sub-par reporting on Social Security. From the article: For nearly three years CJR has observed that much of the press has reported only one side of this story using “facts” that […]

Public schools are often a media target for bad news, real or fictitious – so it’s good to see someone highlight public school successes that might otherwise go unnoticed and unproclaimed. Such are the immersion language schools in Seattle. If your child goes to the John Stanford Elementary School or Hamilton Middle School, she can […]

The editors at Bloomberg News apparently aren’t buying the pro forma argument from corporate-backed front groups and diehard ideologues that the minimum wage is bad for our economy. Instead, when the editors at Bloomberg News planted their stake in the minimum wage debate, they joined a crowd of supporters, including economists, faith leaders, advocates, Senators, President Obama and […]

Tax Day 2012 is the latest scene in the national debate over who pays how much in federal taxes – and to a lesser extent, how some avoid them altogether. Here in Washington state, nearly everyone pays some taxes in one form or another – but the state’s tax code gives high-earners an (almost) free […]

Today isn’t just Tax Day. It’s also Equal Pay Day, marking how far into 2012 a median income woman has to work to earn the same amount as a similar man did in 2011. Nationally, women working full-time make just 77% of men’s annual earnings and 82% of men’s weekly earnings. Women aren’t just making […]

Rep. Eric Cantor’s (VA-7) Small Business Tax Cut Act would be more aptly named the “Small Business Identify Theft Act”. His bill defines a small business as one with fewer than 500 employees – and given that 95% of Washington businesses employ fewer than 50 workers, that cutoff is far too high. For the sake […]

A good education is the key to a shot at the American Dream. So it’s puzzling to see the Seattle School Board pulling the rug out from under hundreds of school-kids by raising tuition for full-day kindergarten by 15% (to $2,720 per year) – on the heels of an even-steeper 31% increase last year. Even […]

If you’re anything like me, you spent part of this week doing your income taxes. Or maybe you’re delaying that task until the weekend. It’s not a very pleasant way to spend your weeknights or your weekend, but those are the wages of procrastination for citizens like me. When you pay your taxes, you may […]

Just about everyone was relieved to hear state budget negotiations came to a close early this morning. In general, the headlines have been positive: Basic Health and Disability Lifeline were protected in the budget, and tax breaks for some out-of-state banks and roll-your-own cigarettes have been eliminated. Some not-so-positive-measures were also part of the budget […]

The Seattle Office for Civil Rights (SOCR) has proposed Administrative Rules for the City Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance – you can see them here: http://www.cityofseattle.net/civilrights/SickLeave.htm. Public comment will be taken until Monday, April 30, 2012. Your input will be used to shape the final language of the Rules, which define terms used in […]

The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) reports that Washington state is faltering  in the effort to deliver high-quality preschool education to children in need. Their report, The State of Preschool 2011, shows little improvement in access to preschool over the past decade. With just 8% of 4-year-olds enrolled in pre-k, Washington ranks 31st out […]

Representative Dennis Kucinich will be speaking at a forum entitled “The Threat to Social Security – An Issue for All Generations” on April 12th at Highline Community College in Des Moines, WA. The event will run from 6:30 – 8:30 PM in the Student Union Building (Building 8),  and also feature Pramila Jayapal, Executive Director, One […]

Mustache aficionado Robert Samuelson pushed some voodoo economics about Social Security in his latest column for the Washington Post – and now he (along with the Washington Post) is receiving some well-deserved ridicule for it. At least four different experts – including Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman – have stepped up to refute his claims and remind us why it’s nothing […]

Removing barriers to higher education is one of the few places there’s bipartisan agreement (at least in theory) in Olympia. And the biggest barrier – by far – to higher education is high tuition. But Washington state’s recession-induced budget shortfall, balanced exclusively with cuts, has crippled higher education, and brought about steep tuition increases every […]

A child’s earliest interactions with the world have tremendous effects on long-term development. Neural connections are most actively formed during the first few years of life – 700 new connections every second. This tidbit comes from Harvard University’s Five Numbers to Remember About Early Childhood Development, which lays out the results of several research studies […]

Washington state’s tax structure, last updated 77 years ago, is broken. Or maybe more accurately, it just isn’t up the job. After all, 77 years ago, things were a bit different. Washington didn’t have one of the best college and university systems in the U.S.; we lacked critical transportation infrastructure necessary for urban centers to grow and […]

Can we really say the U.S. economy is recovering when 93% of all income gains in 2010 went to the top 1%? In 2010, average U.S. unemployment reached its peak of 9.6%; home values continued to crater; and more Washington families needed food assistance then ever before. That same year, the wealthiest 1% hoarded 93 cents of […]